The H,K-ATPase abd Na,K-ATPase are heterodimeric P-type ATPases consisting of an a-subunit that traverses the membrane several times with most of its mass cytoplasmically disposed and a b-subunit that traverses the membrane just once with most of its mass lumenally disposed. There has been some argument regarding the topology and specific number of a-subunit transmembrane segments, varying from 7-12. Previous approaches involve proteolysis followed by laborious transmembrane peptide identification using Edman sequencing or regio-specific antibodies. Due to the large number of peptides, defining topology is a complex problem. Here we utilize Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) to identify cytoplasmically oriented regions of the gastric H,K-ATPase. H,K-ATPase-enriched cytoplasmic-side-out vesicles isolated from rabbit stomach were trypsinized and released peptides and analyzed by MALDI-MS to obtain the masses of cytoplasmic peptides. Tryptic peptides were also separated by RP-HPLC and the fractions subjected to MALDI-MS and PSD analysis. Using this approach we were ble to identify cytoplasmically oriented regions in the a-subunit from Met1-Arg92, Ser165-Arg280,Val351-Lys785,Ala838--Lys851 and Phe997-Tyr1035. Thus, both the N- and C-terminus of the a-subunit were confirmed to be cytoplasmic and Asn226 and Asn731 were not glycosylated. Our current observations with trypsin are consistent with the 10 transmembrane segment hypothesis of the a-subunit. Analysis with chymotrypsin appears to further defines the topology in the 950-1016 region of the H,K-ATPase. Complete analysis of the tryptic and chymotryptic released peptides, as well as labeling with membrane-sided reagents will be performed to arrive at a topological model of the H,K-ATPase.